Uruguay: The 'dark horse' of South America

Thank you for reading my latest update – it means so much to hear from friends and family that you are keeping up with my news through my blog…I hope you find this instalment interesting!

Interesting is definitely one of the words I would use to describe our time in Uruguay as its been one of my favourite countries so far…I was not expecting it to be the case but it definitely has been!

When we crossed the border from Argentina we had no contacts or plans so were fully relying on God to show us the way…our first challenge was to get car insurance (easier said than done…we can’t let you in without car insurance said Customs but you can’t buy it at our office and we don’t know where you can…also said by Customs…!) 


After a process of negotiation they let one car go and with a very helpful tourist information office we went to the first main town to an insurance office. As is often the case the office workers were very curious about us and why we were travelling so we explained and after buying the insurance they all got up from their desks, formed a circle and prayed with us….not bad we thought for the most secular country in South America (so we are told!)

After one of our team members Charlotte emailed a bunch of organisations who work in Uruguay, we ended up partnering with a German Mennonite church whilst staying at a Salvation Army base in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital, for most of the time. The church got us involved in everything…from working with the homeless distributing clothes and food…to leading small groups…to running their youth meetings as well as preaching in church. 

For one young adults meeting myself, Amanda and Natalie from my team went to help out…when we got there they said ‘you can run the evening and by the way there are 5 visiting churches here’…we finished praying for everybody at gone midnight! I spent a lot of time speaking and praying with a young man who had been significantly abused as a child and the repercussions he was experiencing as an adult…what a huge privilege and fantastic to be able to mix my Christian faith with previously acquired social work skills!

With the Salvation Army we painted fences and cleaned wheelchairs…I loved getting my hands dirty and great to be able to bless an organisation that does so much to help people in need. Since being in Uruguay I’ve also been able to take on more of a leadership role and helped co-ordinate all the different activities which the team has got involved in…I’ve enjoyed the challenge in the main!

The church was definitely my favourite to work with so far…they cooked us great cakes and seemed very organised (always a good combination!) They were also incredibly generous towards us and took up various offerings (unknown to us) which paid for all the necessary repairs to our vehicles (they had no idea how much the repairs were going to cost but the offerings covered them and more!). 


As I explained this to the church on our last Sunday I started to cry, and then the leader did and lots of people present also…..and then the church blessed us with their beach camp…for free…which has been an amazing gift especially after the busyness of the last few weeks and getting ready for Brazil…

Yes I am very excited that on Friday some of us will be crossing the border to Brazil (whilst some wait for visas to come through)…we are planning to do Brazil in two parts with Paraguay and Bolivia in between (as you do!)

Thank you for your prayers, friendship and support. God bless you all lots!

Don’t cry for me Argentina…

Well after a crazy three days travelling including two night buses and ferries and crossing the Chilean/Argentinian border twice, we ended up back in Santiago, Chile.  Most of the team stayed with the church who had hosted us before but a couple of us went back to the base where our vehicles were to do a grand clean.  As one of our ‘homes on wheels’ had been visited by little rat friends everything needed cleaning…so my passion for therapeutic cleaning came into action!  As a team we also had to ‘downsize’ our bags as some peoples (read: some girls!) had been added to and this was beginning to impact our vehicles and fuel consumption. 

Having added two new girls to our team, we then drove to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  We arrived late at night to find that the only ‘camp ground’ available to us was actually a piece of grass outside somebody’s house (the owner gave us permission!) so we set up tents whilst some slept in vehicles….to wake up the next morning to the police standing over us telling us that the neighbourhood was very dangerous and that we could have been killed during the night (I think there may have been some exaggeration there but it was funny or concerning depending on your view point!)

Later that day as a team we felt it was right to go to a well known church in the city centre, Rey de Reyes, which has seen amazing growth over the last few years.  So we went to an afternoon service and when the leadership heard we were with Iris Ministries they invited us up to be prayed for…and when they found out where we had slept the night previous, they treated us to two nights in a nice hotel…sheer bliss!  It was also great to be able to eat a couple of good breakfasts….there’s only so much oatmeal on a tight budget a girl really wants to eat!

As a ‘thank you’ to the church, we worked with their homeless outreach which was a special time.  The team helped prepare and serve food, clean toilets and chat and share with those whose home is on the streets.  I loved chatting with the guys and learning from them…even if Argentian Spanish sounds quite different from other Latin countries!

Our last few days in Argentina were spent at the YMCA base outside the city centre which lots of the team used as a retreat time.  I also took the opportunity to do some sightseeing…Buenos Aires is described as the ‘Paris’ of South America and I can see why..stunning architecture although no Eiffel Tower! 

Just as I was feeling pretty tired having been a big sister/mum to many of the team, I got my own little treat.  You may remember that last October I accompanied Dianne from my team to Costa Rica, where her daughter in law Rhiannon had drowned swimming.  Dianne’s friend, Judy, flew to Buenos Aires for a few days to have a break with Dianne…and as a thank you for my support to Dianne, Judy invited me to their hotel for a night complete with an Italian meal.  So I got to have my own pamper time, eat some of my favourite food and use fast wifi including watching the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Thames pageant online, watch my nephew Edward play and speak to my god daughter Niamh through skype!  Thank you to Daddy God and Judy for such a special and well timed present!

Thanks for reading and God bless you lots!

Next stop: Uruguay….

Its the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine!

Well since I last wrote we have covered hundreds of miles down the south of Chile, through the west and south of Argentina and starting to head north again to Santiago, Chile!  We left the vehicles in Santiago and so have been using buses and ferries for this part of our journey which I have loved...and has been the first time for some of my team members to experience using public transport!

One of my favourite parts of this last few weeks has been in Punta Arenas, Chile.  We felt as a team that we were meant to go there but had no specific contacts or work organised...so we were unsure how it was all going to work out.  When we got to the bus station on Saturday, me and a couple of other girls took the initiative to look for a hostel or two for the team (there are currently 21 of us!)...using the Lonely Planet guide we found the street with the cheap hostels, prayed that God would help us find the right hostel and started knocking on doors!

After feeling like Joseph knocking on the doors when Mary was about to give birth to Jesus, we found the cheapest hostel and one that could accomodate all of us.  The next day one of our team, Taylor heard music coming from the building across the road and realised that it was a church so he went to visit.  They were so impressed that a random gringo had turned up that they gave him the opportunity to speak and took up an offering for him (and he had just run out of money!)

When the church heard that Taylor was part of a group of missionaries the church said the team must move from the hostel to be with families from the church as they were so excited to meet us!  So by the Monday the team had been split up into smaller groups and we had been taken into local homes and fed and watered all for free!  The Mum of my house was celebrating her 50th birthday the day we arrived so we got to eat like royalty and try various local beverages!  What a gift and such an incredible example of true hospitality.

So we spent the rest of the week working in partnership with this Gracia y Paz church.  One afternoon we went out on the streets to meet and pray for people.  I spent time with Claudia, a lady who was homeless and had clearly been ostracised by the some of the community.  We finished our time praying together and giving my gloves to her as her hands were very cold.  It was a privileged time.

After being in Punta Arenas we went to Ushuaia, the southernmost city of South America and so technically the end of the world!  Again we worked with local churches and a Youth with a Mission base so we were kept busy.  I got to speak on how my childhood experiences helped prepare me for this adventure and we prayed for lots of people too.  We were very grateful that volunteers from the churches took us on a hike to see a glacier (I ended up sliding down on my back side due to the ice!!) and took us to parts of the Tierra del Fuego national park including the very most southern tip during our rest time.  The scenery was simply stunning.

During this last few weeks I have been reminded of God`s faithfulness, generosity and creativity.  We have seen snow capped mountains, dolphins swimming and sea lions to name but a few as well as being well and truly cared for by groups of people who have welcomed us as strangers into their homes.  The adventure of a lifetime continues.........

The second half of the journey begins....

So its been a bit of a ‘mixed bag’ since I rejoined the team after my break.  Whilst I was really glad to see everybody, it was also harder than I had anticipated to be back with a big group of people…and many of whom are a lot louder and younger than me!  But I’m all good now and enjoying the experience again.  I have had some ‘reflecting’ times with a couple of the younger girls on the team before they have gone home for a break which has been a real privilege…sort of felt like social work supervision!

Probably my favourite time over the last couple of weeks has been in Tacna, near the Peruvian/Chilean border.  We spent a few days with an American family who have just started a childrens home (Exodus House) for abandoned and abused children.  They currently have two little ones with them and are due to take in two more in the next few days.  Their vision is one of working with the family and restoring children to their families where possible and partnering with the local social worker to make this happen, as well as of course providing a high level of care and support to the children. 

So as you can imagine I loved my time with them!  I was able to help care for the children practically in order to give the family some time out as well as give advice on the impact of this time of work on the family running the home and helping children retain their sense of identity and lots more besides!  It was funny…just a couple of days before this time in Tacna I had been saying to God and some of my team that I really missed my job…and then I got to use some of my skills…God really does answer prayer!

We’ve spent a lot of time on the road driving towards and now in Chile.   Did you know that Chile has the driest desert in the world?  Strange but true.  We did spend a couple of nights on the coast in Chile over the Easter weekend which meant that I got to swim and learnt how to make American pancakes for Easter Sunday breakfast.  Apparently this helps towards the qualification of one day marrying an American!  No progress in that department though…..!

Me and my girls spent Easter Sunday afternoon sipping wine (Chilean of course!) in our pop up remembering good times….as we then gave it away the following day to a family living in a shack…the Mum of whom had been praying for about a year for new accommodation for her family and beamed with happiness when she saw the gift!  This in turn means that one of our mobile homes no longer has to pull a pop up camper (thereby helping the engine etc to last longer) and we are now officially homeless!!

We are now in Santiago, Chile’s capital and about to go and work with a local church before heading down South.   We’re really excited about what God is going to do in Chile and have already seen a lady who used a stick walk free after being prayed for!  Love and God bless you all lots x.

Holiday times!

My fortnight’s holiday in Cusco was a massive blessing.  Cusco is South America’s oldest continually inhabited city and centre of the Inca empire so it is full of history and culture.  My team mate Caitlin and I stayed with a friend who we’d met in Mozambique, Elisabeth and her host family who were very hospitable.  This meant that I got my OWN bedroom for a whole two weeks and a wardrobe – so for the first time in 6 months I actually unpacked!  Sheer bliss!

I don’t think I realised how tired I was until I started to unwind!  My days mainly consisted of reading, resting, frequenting nice coffee shops and watching films.  It was so nice to be in one place for the whole time as well as having the opportunity to learn more about Peruvian culture in a beautiful city.  I was grateful that I got to swim in a local indoor heated pool (I was the only gringo there!) as well as get a massage and celebrate St Patricks Day (yes Cusco even has an Irish pub and youth hostel!) 

I also enjoyed going to an English speaking group for people seeking spiritual truth.  The first Sunday I went, the discussion topic was on the spiritual discipline of ‘silence and solitude’ which Caitlin and I thought was ironic (or maybe perfect timing!) as we have had so little of that living with often 30 others for the last six months.  It was great to be able to put into practice some of the practical applications we discussed during the rest of my holiday.  So this all meant that I felt very refreshed and ready for the second half of our journey when I returned to Lima.  [At this stage it looks like our journey will continue into September and maybe into October as we are a little behind the original ending of August at the time of writing!]

Peru: The land of desert and crazy driving!

Our ‘chilling’ time on the coast of Peru ended up with lots of people visiting the toilet for various reasons so I was able to be nurse maid on occasions.  We then had a long drive through Peru’s desert land (apparently 3/5 of Peru is jungle but I have yet to see this part!)  Peru is definitely the poorest country we have been in so far and there seems to be little pride in keeping the country clean…but the sunsets have been stunning!

En route to Lima, the team split into two groups.  One smaller group left to go to work in the jungle and help run a church leaders conference for those based in the Amazon.  The rest of the team then made their way to Paramonga where we partnered with local churches and led childrens work and prayed for lots of people.  On one occasion some of the team prayed for a man who had been deaf from birth and praise God he was able to hear after praying!

Myself and a few others then left south again for Lima to help prepare for the rest of the team’s arrival.  We were able to network with other agencies and do lots of airport runs for new team members arriving and people returning home for a break.  Having done 7 airport runs in 9 days as well as other driving, I’ve certainly conquered rush hour driving in Lima….although rules such as stopping at green lights and going at red sometimes is a little weird!

It very much feels that we’re in a time of transition as a team and as we’ve reached the 6 month mark, many of us are feeling tired and need a rest.  So I’m heading off tomorrow with my lovely friend Caitlin to go to Cuzco for a rest (just a mere 22 hour bus ride away!) whilst the rest of the team stays in Lima or goes to the jungle.  Whilst I love being with my ‘family’ here, close community living is not always easy so I’m looking forward to having some space and sleeping in the same bed for at least a week!  Thank you for making it possible for a holiday to happen.

The sweet smell of red roses..and life in the jungle

Having had the most ridiculous drive to Ecuador from Colombia (4 breakdowns in 2 days in 1 car!) we made it to Quito at about 2am.  We quickly started planning our time in the jungle and having split into two teams, we made our way into the Amazon jungle by bus, boat and on foot.  My team spent time amongst the Waorani and Shaur people who were both very welcoming, hospitable people. 

The nights with the Waorani people was slightly nerve racking as we were informed that their neighbouring tribe had only 7 months ago speared to death visitors staying in the same place as us…and if we were found then the ladies on our team would likely to be taken as slave wives for the men of the neighbouring tribe…I guess that is one way to acquire a husband but it probably wouldn’t be my first choice!! 

The Waorani tribe were also made ‘famous’ in the 1950s for killing a group of Christian missionary men who went to work with them.  Some of the mens wives were incredibly brave and honoured their husbands memories and God by living amongst the very people who had killed their husbands and saw amazing fruit from their work.

We spent time praying for the sick, teaching new Christians and learning of both indigenous group’s culture and traditions.  We got to drink spit soup, eat weird fruit, poo in the bush, get stuck in the mud and meet some incredible people!  We were very privileged to be given tribal names by the Waorani – mine was ‘germanco’ (my spelling!) which means fruit.  I learnt a lot from the whole experience even if I was very grateful for a toilet and shower on my return!  (If you want to see some action on film then check out ‘Iris South America Amazon Jungle Adventure’ on YouTube).

When we got back to Quito we had a busy few days.  Marco and Karina, our hosts are university lecturers so they invited some of us to help in their work.  This meant that I got to help lecture on ‘the Ethics of Jesus’ which was really interesting, although I did have to get it translated into Spanish.  Having been to university a few times it was great to be back in the classroom again!

We also had a very special day on Valentines Day.  Having made cards for all the guys on our team, we went to pray for the sick in the large public hospital as well as give food to people waiting for appointments as many of them travel for miles and have no money left to buy food.  In the evening, we went out into Quito’s red light district and gave out red roses to the sex workers, homeless and street vendors.  Most of the street vendors we saw were indigenous ladies wearing their traditional dress and one of them beamed and laughed when we gave her a rose and told her she was beautiful!  Such a great time.

We crossed the border into Peru on Friday and we’re chilling on the Pacific coast for a couple of days before heading to Lima.  It is so lovely to go to sleep with the sound of the crashing waves against the beach at night especially when we’ve been on the go for a while.  I am definitely missing the routine of home but also love being here.  God bless lovely friends.